She spent hours getting everything just right. This evening she was not going to a community meeting or some other function where she formed only a part of the general impression. This time she was the single source of attention, center stage, the main player in the drama. Oddly enough, however, Ebony honestly believed that she treated this occasion no differently than any other. While standing in front of the mirror and rearranging her collar for the tenth time, and brushing her hair for the twentieth, Ebony convinced herself that the meeting with Ethan was of no particular consequence and should therefore be handled with an appropriate lack of concern.She arrived at the wharf fifteen minutes after the appointed time and found Ethan sitting on a bench. The moment he turned and saw her, his face lit up, and he immediately stood, lifting a bouquet of flowers and a wrapped box of candy.“I wanted these flowers to be as beautiful as you,” he said, passing them to her, “but that would be an impossible task, because nothing is as beautiful as you.”“Thank you.”
